Shipping Methodology and Specifications

Clearly defined and transparent methodologies are the backbone of Platts' price assessment processes. Platts' methodologies provide detailed descriptions and explanations of how we assess the market value of commodities so that customers and other interested parties understand those processes. In this section, we post documentation by commodity and region for all published price assessments and indices.

Platts assesses open market rates for the chartering of dry bulk carriers, dirty tankers, clean tankers and barges. Dirty tankers are defined as those carrying crude, fuel oil or other “dirty” products such as vacuum gasoil or dirty condensate. Clean tankers carry light ends such as gasoline, middles distillates or naphtha. Platts also published separate assessments for smaller dirty tankers dedicated to moving just fuel.